Sarasota man on life support after spearfishing accident

SARASOTA, Fla. – A 21-year-old Sarasota man is in critical condition after a spearfishing accident over the weekend. WINK News spoke exclusively with Jarrod Ditmars’ family about the tragic accident.

“This is one of the biggest freak accidents that I didn’t think would ever happen to my family,” said Erin Ditmars, Jarrod’s sister.

On Saturday morning, Jarrod went out with a friend to do one of his favorite things–spearfish. His mom says he practically lived in the water and usually brought home dinner.

However, as the two were surfacing, Jarrod accidentally bumped into his friend and somehow the spear gun fired, sending the spear into Jarrod’s head.

“It’s literally in his head right now. It went underneath his ear on one side and it’s sticking out under the other ear on the other side and it went through his brain stem,” said Ditmars’ sister.

Jarrod is now in a Sarasota hospital ICU on life support. Doctors are not able to remove the spear from his head until he is stabilized. His family tells WINK News that the doctors have not declared him brain dead and that it’s too early to tell what will happen.

One thing is for sure, no one is giving up hope.

“I believe this is going to happen. I believe it,” his sister said. “I’m not giving up hope. I’m not giving up on him. He’s coming home.

His mother now wants to use this accident as a warning to others, saying it could have been prevented if the safety button was pressed.

“We have a beautiful area but it’s dangerous and I just think young people don’t realize that life is fragile and it can change in an instant,” said Maribeth Ditmars.

If you would like to help the family with medical expenses, you can click on this link.